


Took A Few Years To Soak Up The Tears (But Look At Her Now)

by fortunehasgivenup



Series: And did you know that I'm wild for your skin [11]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: AU, Domestic, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family, Fluff, Holidays, Massage, Oral Sex, Tattoo AU, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:09:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21585910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortunehasgivenup/pseuds/fortunehasgivenup
Summary: It's Beth's first Thanksgiving without the kids.
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Series: And did you know that I'm wild for your skin [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1377679
Comments: 22
Kudos: 176





	Took A Few Years To Soak Up The Tears (But Look At Her Now)

Rio entered through the kitchen door and stopped. He quietly closed the door and surveyed the counter. Every inch of it was covered in baked goods. At the centre of the kitchen stood Elizabeth, hair tied back, icing sugar on her cheek, brown frosting on her hands and apron.

“Hello,” he said, once she’d pulled the piping bag up. She jumped, squeezing the bag and sending a stream of icing onto the counter.

“Damn!” She reached for the cloth tucked into her apron ties and wiped it up, then shoved the cloth back into place, no doubt staining her apron even more. “Hi,” she said, sounding a little flustered.

“Need me to help move some stuff out of your way?” he offered. “Pack any of it up?”

She sighed. “Would you? Those maple leaves are going into the white boxes on the stool.”

“Yes ma’am,” Rio drawled. “Specific number per box?”

She shook her head. “They’re all going the same place. Just need to transport them. They don’t need parchment between the layers either.”

Rio washed his hands, then made quick work of packing up the multi-coloured maple leaf sugar cookies, stacking the boxes as he went. By the time he had finished that, Beth had completed whatever task had her so focused. She came over to give him a kiss.

“Hi,” she said again. ‘Thank you.”

“There any extras?” he asked.

Beth laughed. “The rejects are in the cookie jar. You can have one. One! Don’t spoil your dinner.”

“Of course,” Rio agreed, before going to the jar and taking two. Beth gave him a look, her hands on her hips as he ate them. “Want me to start putting together the rest of the boxes?”

Beth surveyed her sweets. “The big boxes next.” She pointed. “They need the cardboard at the bottom so that they don’t buckle.”

“I can do that.”

Beth flushed, an interesting reaction. Rio walked over to her.

“What’s that for?” He reached up to tap her cheek with one finger.

She shook her head. “Just happy.”

“Good.” Rio kissed her. “Now hurry up and finish. No kids tonight and I’ve got plans.”

“Do you now?” Beth asked, raising her eyebrow.

Rio gave her a quick peck, then retreated to put the boxes together. “Finish up and I’ll tell you.”

Plans turned out to mean dinner reservations at a place Beth knew she’d mentioned in passing that she wanted to try.

“You’re spoiling me,” she told him as he took her hand to walk to the restaurant.

Rio shook his head. “I can’t cook as well as you.”

“You do just fine,” Beth assured him.

He snorted. “Fine,” he said. “Fine’s not the same as what you do. Plus, you’ll wind up trying to help or insist on cleaning up because I cooked. So if I want to make sure you have a night off, I gotta get you outta the house.”

Beth flushed. “I’m not that bad! I can relax.”

Rio looked at her. “If you say so, Elizabeth.” He let go of her hand to hold the door open, then followed her in with a hand on her back.

It was the kind of meal that Beth wasn’t used to having, but each course seemed to be even better than the last. She groaned once their dessert had been deposited in front of them.

“What?” Rio asked.

Beth sighed, picking up her fork. “I’m going to eat this whole thing,” she said, gesturing to the flourless chocolate cake in front of her.

Rio smiled. “Not even gonna let me try a bite?”

She pursed her lips. “I guess you can. But a small one.”

Laughing, Rio did just that before digging into his mousse.

———————

Rio still refused to sleep in a shirt, so he grabbed the pajama bottoms that he kept at Beth’s. She was buttoning her shirt, slowly hiding her breasts from his view.

“What would you say,” he collapsed into bed next to her, “about less flannel and more satin and lace?”

She looked at him.

“I’m thinking some semi-sexy nightdresses,” he went on. “Something you can wear with a robe when you’re out of the room. But something that lets me get my hands on you too.”

She lifted one eyebrow, which just made him smile.

“C’mon,” he coaxed, “we get up in the morning, you walk out in one, and I follow you to the kitchen. Lift up the hem and get my hands on your ass.”

Beth mock scowled at him. “You don’t seem to have trouble getting your hands on my ass in the first place. Not sure why I should make it easier for you.”

“Because, mami,” Rio leaned over to touch her hip, “you like it when I touch you.” He traced the seam of her pajama pants up and down a few times before deviating to cup her right where her thigh and ass met.

“I do, huh?” Beth clamped her hand over his and stopped him from stroking her.

“Uh huh,” he said, sliding a little closer to her until their lips were barely an inch apart. “You do. You really, really do.”

Beth giggled as he rolled them so she was on her back and he was hovering over her.

“That funny?” he teased, pulling his hand free.

—————————

Beth walked out of the barre class, feeling tired but energized. Brit, the woman who always took position at the barre on the opposite side of the room, was walking at her side, telling her about her work.

“I travel all over,” Brit said, “although I usually stick to a cluster of cities.”

“Sports reporting though?” Beth shook her head. “Sounds like you probably deal with a whole lot of bullshit from men.”

Brit groaned. “I’m a producer, you think they’d understand that I’m their boss. But no. It’s definitely gotten better over the years as I’ve gained seniority. I can pick who I work with now.”

Beth smiled at the other woman, who had introduced herself after the first class and said, “I think we might be the only over-30s, so we need to stick together.” Just a year younger than Beth, Brit’s life couldn’t be more different.

“Oh!” Brit perked up. “Would you look at that.”

Beth followed her gaze towards the boxing ring, which was normally empty after class ended. It wasn’t tonight.

She immediately knew Rio - whether it was from the ink on his back or just the way that he was moving, it was instant. The other man, she didn’t recognize. A little taller than Rio, with dreads sticking out of the protective headgear, and nearly as many tattoos as Rio. She would have remembered meeting him.

The two of them punched and dodged as Beth and Brit walked towards the ring.

“I think I need to find out when this normally happens,” Brit drawled. “Damn.”

Beth nodded absent-mindedly. Rio hadn’t mentioned coming to the gym, so it must have come up at the last minute.

He hit the other man in the face and she winced. Even with the protective gear, she knew that Rio would get bruises or cuts from sparring and she imagined his opponent would be feeling that punch in the morning.

There was some sign - maybe a shared word or one of the other bystanders was refereeing - that had the two of them breaking up with a laugh, immediately softening their stances.

Beth climbed up onto the side of the ring.

“Beth!” Brit called out, but Beth ignored her.

Her name made Rio turn away from his opponent as they exchanged back slaps and he grinned when he saw her. He spat his mouthguard out as he walked over to her.

Shirtless, slick with sweat, he leaned over the ropes. “Hey baby.”

“Fancy seeing you here,” Beth said, lifting her arms to hook them over the top. “What are the odds?”

Rio chuckled, kissing her. “Jack’s been out of town and asked if I was free to spar. He drove me here, so I hope you’re willing to give me a lift home.”

Beth hummed. “I don’t know about that. I don’t like taking strange men home with me.”

Rio’s opponent, Jack, came over. “You must be Beth.” He shook her hand. “This guy never shuts up about you.” He clapped Rio on the back.

“Hi. Oh! This is Brit,” Beth turned back towards the other woman, who waved, “from barre class.”

“Hey,” Rio said. “Beth’s mentioned you.”

Brit looked at Rio, then at Beth. “She never mentioned you,” she said accusingly.

Rio glanced at Beth, a small smile on his lips. “Keeping me a secret?”

“More like not much of a conversationalist while I’m struggling to breathe,” she told him.

Jack climbed out. “You boxing?” he asked, starting to undo his hand wraps.

“No, barre class,” Beth replied, stepping aside so that Rio could climb out too. He leapt down off the side, then reached back to help her down.

“Oh fuck,” Jack groaned. “I tried doing one of those once. My boyfriend’s a dancer,” he said, “and he kept saying I couldn’t do what he does. Turns out he was right.”

Beth smiled. “You live in Detroit?”

Jack nodded. “Spent the last few months on a house restoration down south. I’m glad to be back, although I’m starting to think I might like to take a vacation sometime this winter.”

“Too cold?” Beth guessed.

“Too damn dark all the time,” Jack answered. “I miss sunlight.”

They’d reached the change rooms.

“Nice to meet you, Beth,” Jack said with a small salute. “Now that I’m back in town, we’ll have to have the two of you over for dinner sometime.”

“I’d like that.” Beth smiled.

“Meet you out here in a bit?” Rio asked. When Beth nodded, he bent to kiss her nose, then followed Jack into the change room.

“You’ve been holding out!” Brit said as soon as they were alone. “How long have the two of you been married?”

“Oh, we’re not - we started dating about six months ago.”

It took a second as Brit slotted things into place. “Well, he’s hot as fuck, I’m proud of you.”

Beth, blushing, started to strip out of her sweaty workout gear. “He’s great. And the kids love him too.”

Brit whistled. “Right, you’ve got four.”

“Plus his son.” Beth undid her bra. “Marcus is the same age as my youngest.”

Brit’s eyes were wide. “Five kids?” She shook her head. “I like you, Beth, but I’m never babysitting.”

Laughing, Beth went to shower quickly.

Once she was clean and dressed, her dirty clothes shoved into her gym bag to be washed, she called out a goodbye to Brit. “See you later!”

Brit stuck her head out of the showers to grin at Beth. “Enjoy your handsome fella.”

Beth ignored her.

Rio, newly showered, was leaning against the front desk and chatting with Tara and another trainer that Beth hadn’t met.

“Ready to go?” he asked her.

She passed him the keys to the van. “You can drive.”

He shrugged, pulling her in with and arm around her, hand on her waist. “Feeling tired?”

“A little,” she said.

“Poor baby,” he teased her, kissing the top of her head. “You gonna make it home before falling asleep?”

Beth poked him in the belly, then stepped away when they reached the van.

“Not that kind of tired,” she told him as he adjusted the driver’s seat. “More like just drop onto the couch for forty minutes before I start thinking about food.”

“There’s left-overs, right?”

Beth mentally rummaged through the fridge, then nodded. “Yeah.”

“That’s dinner taken care of then,” Rio told her, pulling out of the parking lot and pointing them towards home. Her house. Whatever. “Sounds to me like you can spend forty minutes on the couch if you want.”

She laughed, letting her head fall to the side so that she was facing him.

“What?” He looked over at her when they stopped at a red light. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Beth smiled, leaning over to kiss him briefly. “I love you,” she said.

Rio smiled back. “I love you too.” He took one hand off the wheel to hold hers, squeezing it.

Beth adjusted her position and changed the subject. “So, how was your day?”

They talked all the way back to the house, but Beth pulled him into a kiss when they reached the door, preventing him from going for his keys.

“What was that for?” Rio asked when she pulled away.

Beth just smiled. “I need to have an excuse to kiss you?”

“Nah,” Rio wrapped himself around her back as she unlocked the door, “just curious. Was thinking that maybe it had to do with how you saw me all hot and sweaty earlier. Was hoping that you wanted me to get us both hot and sweaty all over again. Or maybe we need to take a nice, long shower and get really clean.”

Beth stepped inside, pushing the door shut with her foot. “Why not both?”

Rio laughed, opening his mouth against her neck to suck at her skin.

“No hickies!” Beth scolded.

“I ain’t giving you a hickey,” Rio scoffed. His hand slid between her top and her belly, rubbing her skin for a few seconds before diving into her pants. He made quick work of moving her panties out of the way. “Let’s go to bed.”

She reached back to hold him by the back of his head. “You’re gonna have to let go of me if you want that, honey.”

He grumbled, but he straightened up and shoved her gently in the direction of the bedroom with a hand on her ass.

“Rio!”

“I’m just speeding up the proceedings,” he said.

“No, not that,” she said. “If we leave our gym clothes in those bags, they’re going to stink.”

He stopped. “Okay, I’ll do that,” he said, giving her one last push. “Meet you in the bedroom.”

Beth watched over her shoulder as he went back to the door and grabbed their bags. Biting her lip, she nearly skipped down the hall to the bedroom. He hadn’t been wrong when he’d commented on how he’d been hot and sweaty earlier. If anything, that was an understatement.

Rio was always attractive, but Beth couldn’t deny that there were moments when that fact came roaring back into the forefront of her mind, shoving aside all the other considerations and components of their relationship. Earlier had been one of those.

He’d been so confident in the ring, sure in his movements. His tattoos had been on full display, but they’d been nearly glowing with his sweat. And Beth? Beth just wanted to get her hands on him.

Going to the dresser, Beth took out the vial of massage oil that the salesperson had slipped her on their vacation weekend and rolled it between her palms.

“What’s that?’ Rio asked, coming back into the bedroom from putting their gym clothes in the laundry.

She held it up. “Back when we went to the cabin, remember that store with the bath stuff and candles?” He nodded. “Apparently the cashier thought we were cute because she gave us a freebie.”

He took it to read the label and grinned. “What are you thinking? You want me to put my hands all over you?” He started to do just that, but she shook her head. “Oh, so you want to put your hands all over me.”

Beth bit her lip and nodded before taking the oil back.

He reached back and tugged his shirt over his head. “Don’t want to get my clothes dirty,” he said, dropping his hands to shove down his sweats. “Where you want me?”

Beth jerked her head towards the bed, but he didn’t go right away. He put his hand on her belly and ran it up between her breasts and down again.

“Don’t want you getting your clothes dirty either,” he said.

She shook her head, shoving him towards the bed. “Get comfy,” she instructed.

Chuckling, Rio walked to the bed. He studied it, then yanked the comforter off to toss it onto the ground and collapsed onto the bed, front down.

Watching him, Beth took off her shirt and pants, but grabbed a robe and wrapped it around herself, tying a neat bow.

He was fluffing a pillow, punching it into a position comfortable for his neck.

Beth walked over to the bed, set the oil on the bedside table and studied Rio’s back. Reaching out, she put her fingers between his shoulder blades, then went down the spine until she reached his ass. He shifted slightly, but settled in.

After a quick evaluation, she straddled his lower back, staying up on her knees to grab the oil again.

She didn’t exactly have a ton of experience with sensual massage or anything like that, but as she rubbed some of the oil between her palms and started to rub Rio’s shoulders, she put that aside. At the first touch, he tensed a fraction and then relaxed into the mattress with a sigh.

“Tell me if something doesn’t feel good,” she instructed.

He nodded, ribs jumping under her hands. “Feeling pretty good,” he said.

At first, she kept her touch relatively light, just spreading the massage oil all over before moving back to his shoulders to start again, this time with a little more pressure.

Rio sighed, melting as she pressed her thumbs between his shoulder blades on either side of his spine.

Rio groaned. “Fuck,” he panted before shoving his face into the pillow.

Beth was enjoying herself, working oil into each and every inch of Rio’s back even as he started to shift restlessly in search of friction.

“How are you feeling?” Beth asked, sliding a little further down his body and digging into his lower back. He hissed. “That bad?”

“That good,” he said, turning his head to the side. “Jesus, Elizabeth.”

Beth poured a little more oil into her hands and moved on to his ass and thighs. He hissed as she dug her thumbs in.

“You’re tense,” she told him. “You need to take better care of yourself.”

He grunted.

“You’re always telling me to take care of myself, but it feels like you’re not taking your own advice.”

Rio groaned. “Don’t tease, ma,” he said, slightly muffled.

“I’m not teasing,” Beth told him, working oil into his calf.

He shifted. “Oh you are,” he replied, tilting his head so he could look down at her. “It’s cruel.”

“I can stop and we can go have dinner,” Beth told him, switching to the other leg.

“You done yet?”

Beth shook her head. “Roll over,” she told him.

His eyes narrowed, but he did as asked, rolling onto his back. His cock was hard, as she had expected based on his reactions. Meeting his eyes, Beth rubbed him with her thigh as she straddled his waist.

“Can I convince you to move down a couple inches?” he asked, voice gone rough.

Beth shook her head.

“That’s not fair,” he complained, playing with the hem of her robe as she started to spread oil on his chest.

“Life’s not fair, Rio,” Beth told him with an exaggerated sternness.

“Come on, mami,” he tried to cajole, “we can do this with you on my cock, can’t we?”

“Uh uh,” Beth replied, circling his nipples and rubbing over them a couple of times before catching them with her nails.

He grunted, lifting his hips. “Elizabeth,” he said.

“Nope,” she insisted. “I’m making you feel good.”

“If you wanna make me feel good then -“

She bent over to kiss him in order to silence him. “And think about how good you’ll feel after holding out for a bit more,” she whispered into his ear. “Think you can do that?”

She felt him nod before straightening up with a grin.

He was quiet as she massaged his arms and chest, the front of his thighs, skipping over his cock.

He growled softly when she scratched at the inside of his thighs. “You’ve had enough time,” he said, reaching out to her and tugging her up towards him. “Come on.”

Laughing, Beth let him pull up towards him, but rather than straddling his waist, she slid away. Rio’s lips drew into an exaggerated pout, but Beth just turned around so that she was facing away from him.

She had every intention of teasing him a little longer, but Rio had other ideas and not a whole lot of patience left.

He grabbed her hips and yanked her down against his face. Beth fell forward to brace herself on her hands with a groan, canting her hips to rub herself against his face.

Rio groaned, his hips jerking up, making his cock bob. It was just out of reach, but Beth shifted forward to circle her hand around the base.

She stroked him as he licked and sucked at her clit. He moaned into her, although she wasn’t entirely sure if it was because of what she was doing or what he was doing. His tongue hit a particularly lovely spot that made Beth gasp, tightening her grip as the hand on his belly curled, scratching him lightly.

It was just a teasing motion, but it had his stomach jumping at her touch.

She wanted him in her mouth, so she stretched herself as far as she could, getting her lips around his tip and laving it with her tongue.

“Yeah,” Rio murmured against her, his hips lifting a little.

Beth used her hand to work what she couldn’t get her mouth on, teasing the thick vein on the underside before firming her grip.

Rio’s tongue and lips kept at her and his hands got involved as well, one pressing her down against his face and the other one parting her folds so he could delve deeper.

She moaned, losing her coordination as she shivered with pleasure.

“Fuck,” Rio muttered, lifting her slightly and sliding two fingers in. “Ride me.”

Beth sat up. “This not doing it for you?” She squeezed his cock and stroked.

“Oh it is,” he replied, “but I think I’ll fuck up my back.”

Giggling, Beth swung her leg over him so she could look at him.

“What?” Rio scowled. “You’re short, Elizabeth. Not my fault.”

“Not mine either!” Beth protested even as she let him direct her down the length of his body until her pelvis was even with his. With a roll of her eyes, she straddled him again, holding him in place to sink down his length. “I was going to do this,” she said, “but someone got greedy.”

Rio grinned, although it faltered when she took the last couple inches. He sucked his bottom lip in between his teeth and nodded. He didn’t respond to her, busy with her breasts.

He pinched her nipple, then rubbed over it.

Beth circled her hips, stroking his chest without even really thinking about it.

“It do it for you?”

She lifted her head to meet Rio’s eyes. “Huh?”

“Seeing me earlier,” he clarified.

“Uh huh,” Beth replied, grinding back and forth, not lifting up much. His expression was pleased, whether by her answer or what she was doing, she wasn’t entirely sure. “That gonna inflate your ego?”

“Nah,” he dropped his hands to Beth’s hips and started to lift her up and drop her back down, thrusting up into her as he did it. “Plenty big enough already, wouldn’t you say?”

Moaning, Beth started to move to the rhythm that Rio had set.

“I might have to start charging women to watch you and your friends box,” she told him. “Ah!” A sharp thrust had Rio going in at a different angle. Picking up on it, Rio adjusted his hold on her so he could hit it again.

“There?”

Beth’s mouth fell open as she nodded.

He sped up so that the tip of his cock was practically rubbing over that spot constantly. Squeezing around him sharpened the sensation.

“Shit.” His hold on her hips slipped and they fell out of sync briefly. Rolling them, Rio hooked her right knee over his elbow and pressed in, shifting until he found it again.

Beth moaned, reaching up to grab onto the pillow under her head. She licked the fingertips of her other hand and lowered them to rub over her clit as Rio kept up his pace. It was enough to push her the rest of the way quickly.

Rio’s grin had disappeared, replaced with a single minded focus.

“You almost there?” she asked him. He nodded. “What do you need?”

He bit his lip. “Put your hands on me,” he demanded, so Beth did, setting them on his chest. She had inkling that there was more to it than that, so she curled her hands until her nails were pressing into his skin. He nodded.

Slowly, Beth started to drag them downwards.

“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath, his head falling forwards and his hips stuttering inside of her. Beth shivered as she felt him come.

It took him a moment to pull out, falling onto his back beside her.

Rio reached out for her and tugged her up so that she was lying closer to him. Sprawled half on top of him, really. Rio’s hands started tracing across her back. Their breathing slowed and Beth found her mind going back to a topic that had been filling her head all day.

“It’s my first Thanksgiving without the kids.”

Rio sat up and cupped her cheek, pulling her face towards his. He kissed her softly, then wiped away a tear that Beth hadn’t even notice falling.

“Hey,” he said, “c’mere.” He pulled her in a little more, although there wasn’t really a way for her to be closer to him.

She sniffed. “Last year Dean was in the middle of moving, so I got Thanksgiving and wound up hosting Christmas too. But this year, Thanksgiving is his, I get Christmas Day.”

He rubbed up and down her back. “If you don’t mind it being a little quieter, you can come to the loft. You, me and Marcus can spend the day together.”

“What do you normally do?” Beth asked.

“Go to Lora’s, but not this year,” he answered. “They’re going to Nick’s parents’ place this year for some reason.”

“What’s weird about that?” She started to draw lines on his chest with her fingertips.

“They’re Canadian,” Rio said.

Beth laughed. “Maybe Lora wants to get away from the madness here.”

Rio shrugged. “Maybe. Doesn’t change my offer though.”

“I’ll think about it,” she replied.

“That’s all I’m asking.” Rio kissed the top of her head. “Think about it.”

They were quiet for a moment.

“What was that about you charging people to watch me box?” he asked.

Beth groaned, burying her face in his chest.

———————————

Marcus passed him a hand turkey. Rio looked at it, then at Marcus.

“Put it on the fridge,” Marcus demanded. “Please.”

“We’ve got last year’s hand turkey up already,” Rio said.

“Put them both up. Beth says that you should display more of my art even if it doesn’t go with your -“ he paused, “static.”

“Aesthetic?” Rio guessed. Marcus shrugged. “Alright, we’ll put up both hand turkeys.”

Marcus’ serious expression melted away to a happy grin. Rio put the second turkey under a magnet. “Happy now?”

“Yes,” Marcus said, pushing the one turkey closer to the other. “Now they can be friends.”

Rio smiled as he bent down to grab Marcus around the waist and hoist him up.

“Dad!” Marcus flailed his arms and legs as Rio settled him on his shoulder.

“I don’t hear anything. Did you hear something?” Rio teased, walking to the cupboard to take out a box of crackers.

“Put me down!” Marcus demanded, so Rio set him on the counter. “Can we have cheese and crackers?” he asked as soon as he saw what Rio had taken down.

“We can do that,” Rio agreed, moving to grab the cheese from the fridge. “I’m not cutting it into shapes though. Elizabeth spoils you.”

Marcus drew his lip down in an exaggerated pout. “But it tastes better if you cut it into shapes!”

Rio shook his head. “You telling your old man that his cheese and crackers aren’t good enough anymore?”

“No,” Marcus rushed to assure him, reaching out to pat Rio’s shoulder. “But they could be improved.”

Laughing, Rio sliced the cheese. “Submit a complaint.”

A while later, Rio poured some of the bubble bath that Elizabeth had brought over into the tub and swirled it around.

“For Marcus,” she had said, tapping the green bottle. “Shampoo is _not_ the same as bubble bath.”

“I like it because it smells like apples,” Marcus commented, dropping his pajamas near the door of the bathroom.

“It does,” Rio agreed.

“Beth likes stuff that smells nice.” Marcus sniffed the bottle. “And stuff that’s pretty.”

Rio nodded.

“When can we go Christmas shopping?” Marcus asked. “We gotta get presents for Beth and Jane and Emma and Danny and Kenny,” he listed them off on his fingers. “And Buddy. We should get him a special treat too.”

Rio smiled. “You know what you want to get for everybody?”

Marcus shrugged. “I dunno yet.”

“Well, how about we give it a little more thought,” Rio suggested, “and then we’ll know where we want to go. How’s that sound?” He turned off the water. “Temperature okay?”

Marcus put his arm in the tub and nodded. “You can go away now.”

Laughing, Rio headed to the door. “Don’t forget to wash behind your ears.”

“I know, I know!” Marcus shooed him out.

Rio went to lie down, grabbing the book he’d borrowed from Beth’s shelf. There were the sounds of Marcus bathing, splashing, eventually the sound of the tub draining.

“Make sure to dry off,” Rio called out. “I don’t want you drippin’ all over.”

Marcus came out a minute later, dressed in his pajamas, climbed onto Rio’s bed and collapsed at his side.

Rio looked at his son.

“What is it, pop?” Rio rubbed his head, watching as Marcus’ eyes slipped closed.

“Are we going to live with Beth?” Marcus asked, wrapping his arms around Rio’s middle.

He paused, but when Marcus made a noise, he went back to rubbing.

“Is that something that you think you’d be okay with? Not today or tomorrow, but eventually?” Rio moved his hand to Marcus’ back.

“I like Beth,” Marcus said. He’d said that before. “You like Beth.”

“I do,” Rio agreed.

Marcus was quiet. “You love Beth.”

“I do,” he said again.

“Are you gonna get married?” Marcus lifted his head so that he was resting his chin on Rio’s stomach.

He couldn’t deny that he’d thought about it. He was thinking of their relationship in terms of years, of a shared future. “Maybe one day.”

“Mom says that she’s a really nice lady and that she’s happy you found someone.”

Rio blinked in surprise. He and Cassie got along well, they were practically friends these days, but hearing that she liked Beth was almost…comforting. If she hadn’t, it would have made Marcus spending time with Beth and her family extremely awkward. “She does?”

Marcus nodded, digging his chin into Rio’s belly as he did.

“Does Beth love you too?”

Rio smiled. “Yeah, pop, she does.”

Marcus screwed up his mouth. “What about me?”

Rio shifted his head. “You mean, does she love you?”

Another nod.

“I think she does,” he said.

“And you love Jane and Emma and Kenny and Danny.”

“Yup.” Rio rubbed Marcus’ back as his son processed this, chewing on his lower lip as he did. “What’s wrong?”

“You still love me right?”

Rio lifted Marcus until their faces were even. “I love you, Marcus,” he said. “Nothing’s ever going to change that.” He pulled him into a hug, relieved when Marcus wrapped his arms around his neck without pause.

“Even if I’m bad?”

“Hey,” Rio sat up, “even if you do something bad, you aren’t bad, remember?” Marcus pulled away, but kept his hands on Rio’s neck, coming around to trace the edges of a wing on his throat. “And even if you do something bad, I’ll love you.”

“Promise?” Marcus asked.

“Promise.”

———————————

Rio finished the last of the windows and headed inside.

“Thank you, dear,” his mother said from her spot at the kitchen counter. “I made you hot chocolate.”

He laughed, pulling off the work gloves. “You know I’m not 12 anymore, right?”

“I know,” she said. “That’s why I put some booze in.” She winked at him and went on dicing potatoes.

He dropped his coat on the back of his chair and went to join her.

“You don’t need to help,” she said, patting his arm.

“Nah,” Rio waved her off, rolling up his sleeves and washing his hands.

“Elizabeth busy today?”

Rio picked up the hot chocolate in one hand and a knife in his other, taking a sip. He coughed. “You put any chocolate in there or is it all Kahlua?”

She scoffed. “I’m not letting you to wiggle out of that question.”

He sighed. “She’s working an event. The kids are all over the place and I’m not meeting up with Cisco until four. What, I can’t come and help out my mother?”

Paola smiled at him. “Of course you can. You know I can call someone to look at these things.”

“Yeah, but then you wouldn’t have anything to brag about at church,” Rio teased, starting to dice potatoes alongside her. 

After a moment, he gave in and just told his mother what was on his mind. “We’re trying to figure out what to do for Thanksgiving. Her kids are with their dad and with Lora and Nick heading up North, my usual plans are shot.”

“Come here for dinner. Invite Beth and her family,” his mother said.

Rio looked at her in surprise.

“You said she has a sister and a nephew, didn’t you?”

He nodded.

“Invite them over. I’m not doing the turkey nonsense, but we can cook something up together,” she said as she finished up the last of the potatoes and started to transfer them to a big pot. “Spend some family time together.”

Rio smiled at his mother, then pushed away from the counter to walk over to her and bend down to kiss the top of her head. “Thanks, ma.”

She shooed him away, but she was smiling as she did it.

——————

Rio came into Beth’s kitchen after dinner with Cisco to find the counter covered in paper, feathers, glue, pinecones, and all other kinds of craft supplies.

“Hi!” Jane looked up first, while Marcus was using a hot glue gun, with Beth’s help, to apply googly eyes to what looked like a pipe cleaner circle. “We’re making pinecone turkeys! Come help.”

He took off his shoes and after doing a circle of the table to greet Beth and Marcus, took a seat next to Jane. “Pinecone turkeys? Don’t think I know that one,” he said. Jane pointed to a page that had been ripped out of a magazine years ago and put into a protective plastic sleeve.

“You can help me do the feathers on mine,” Jane said, passing him a handful of blue craft feathers.

Rio smiled. “Blue turkey?”

“Yeah. I already made one with just brown and yellow and orange. It was boring. Now we’re making a blue turkey,” she explained.

“Mine’s rainbow,” Marcus informed him as Beth filled a gap in the pinecone with glue. “His name is Doug.”

“Doug?” Rio asked, setting the blue feathers down and sorting them so that they were all facing in the same direction.

“Uh huh,” Marcus said, shoving the pipe cleaner head into the now glue filled gap.

“Why Doug?”

Marcus pursed his lips. “You can’t ask people why they have the names they have, Dad. His parents named him.”

“His turkey parents named him Doug?” Rio started to dot glue in the spots that Jane pointed to. “That doesn’t seem right.”

“I don’t know why they did it!” Marcus fluffed the feathers a little. “Can we add more?” When Beth nodded, he took a handful of feathers and started to pick out some green and yellow and purple ones. “Why did you name me Marcus?”

“You’re named for your mama’s uncle,” Rio said. “You know that.”

“Yeah, but you have uncles too. And you could have named me after mom’s dad or your dad, but you didn’t,” Marcus retorted.

Rio met Beth’s eye as he held the pinecone in place for Jane. She was smiling, biting her lip like she was holding back a laugh.

“Because we didn’t want to give you someone else’s name. Your ma didn’t know her uncle, so it was different,” Rio explained.

“My parents named me Jane because Mommy likes books.”

Rio turned the pinecone. “Yeah? Which Jane you named after?”

“All of them,” Jane told him, attaching the last feather. “There!”

Rio set the pinecone down on the counter. It was interesting, that was for sure. “Very nice,” he told Jane. “Where are we gonna put it?”

“We have to make a little stand,” Jane said. “And then I’m gonna take her to my grandma’s house for Thanksgiving because she has a lot of turkey things but they’re all boring.”

Rio choked back laughter. “Maybe break it to her a little nicer than that, okay?” He checked that he didn’t have glue on his hand before setting it on Jane’s hair. “You don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

Jane nodded. “I won’t.”

“That’s good.” Rio, seeing that Beth was finally free, moved to kiss her. “Dinner was good?”

She nodded. “There’s leftovers if you want.”

“I’m good for now. Had wings.”

“Wings aren’t a meal, Rio,” Beth scolded. “And having a carrot and piece of celery with them doesn’t make it a meal either.”

He laughed. “How’d you know?”

She put her hand on his belly and shoved him away. “You’re going to get hungry in a couple of hours and when that happens, there’s stew in the fridge.”

“Thanks, baby,” he replied, moving to stand behind her and wrapping his arms around her to hold her in place. “Hey,” he called out when he saw Marcus and Jane slinking towards the living room. “You think this mess is gonna clean itself up?”

Marcus groaned and turned back, dragging his feet to the table, but started to put pipe cleaners back into the bag they’d been taken from. Jane was slower.

“Jane,” Rio said before Beth could. “You make a mess, you gotta clean it up.”

With a sigh, she started on the feathers. Beth set her hand over his and squeezed. He rested his chin on her head and started to sway them back and forth slowly.

“How would you feel about going to my mother’s?” he asked quietly.

Beth tilted her head back. “What?”

“For Thanksgiving.”

“I thought you said she doesn’t really do that.” Beth frowned.

“Yeah, she said she’s not making a turkey,” Rio shrugged, “but she said to invite you, your sister, and Sadie. Said we can still eat together.”

Beth didn’t say anything for a moment, then she nodded. “I’d like that.”

————

Annie was a little less sure. “We’ve never met, she probably doesn’t want us crashing her day.”

“Annie,” Beth sighed, “she wouldn’t have mentioned it if she didn’t mean it. We’re,” she paused, “practically family at this point.”

Annie waggled her eyebrows. “Oh are you now? He put a ring on it?”

Beth slid a tray of canapés onto the rack in the back of the van, then reached over to poke her sister. “No, he didn’t. Although Emma asked him if he was.”

“Wait, she what?” Annie paused, pushing her hair out of her face and tying it back.

Beth nodded, fighting a smile at the memory of what Rio had said. He hadn’t told her everything, that had been obvious, but what he had was sweet.

“She asked him if he was planning to ask me to marry him,” Beth explained. “And he told her that he’s not going to for now, but if he does, he’s going to talk to the kids about it too. Speaking of,” she turned to Annie, “how’s the lady friend?”

“Lady friend?” Annie snorted. “What’s next, gal pals?” She elbowed Beth in the stomach. “She’s good. Me and Sadie went over to her place for dinner a few nights ago. She’s a way better cook than either of us.”

Beth laughed. “You’re not that bad when you pay attention to what you’re doing.”

Annie waved a hand, shutting one side of the back while Beth did the other. “Yeah well, maybe I can’t pay attention when there’s a really pretty woman in my vicinity. One who likes me for some reason.”

The last part was mumbled, but Beth stepped in and wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulder. “There’s lots of reasons,” she reminded her. “I bet she even tells you some of them.”

Annie looked down, but there was a light wash of pink on the apples of her cheeks.

Beth nudged her. “Is that a blush I see? Who are you and what have you done to my sister?”

“Shut up,” Annie mumbled, shoving Beth away but smiling the whole time. “Send me Rio’s mom’s address and I’ll check with Sadie if he’s okay with it. Our plan was Chinese food and homoerotic buddy films.”

Beth shook her head. “Your idea or his?”

“He said he’d never seen Top Gun,” Annie replied, walking around to the driver’s side. “Then I mentioned Point Break, which he also hasn’t seen because clearly I’m falling down as a parent, which led to us setting the theme.”

Beth rolled her eyes. “Call if there’s any trouble. I’ll be here for the rest of the day.”

“Aye aye, captain,” Annie said with a salute before getting into the delivery van and driving off.

Shaking her head at her sister, Beth shut the garage door and went back to the kitchen to get a start on some puff pastry.

———————

Paola was waving Annie and Sadie into the house when Beth got to the door from the kitchen. “Come in, come in! You must be Beth’s sister, Annie!” She gave Annie a warm smile and turned to Sadie. “And the nephew, Sadie. Are you sure you’re only twelve? You’re tall.”

Sadie shuffled in place, blushing down at his shoes.

“Alright, coats in the closet, shoes on the mat, come in and have something to eat,” Paola went on. “Oh, there you are Beth. I introduced myself to our guests,” she said with a smile.

“Hi you two,” Beth hugged Sadie first, then moved to Annie.

By that point, Rio had also come to the front hall, Marcus in tow.

“Hi Annie!” Marcus greeted her. “Hi Sadie!” Beth had been surprised to discover that Marcus had a slight hero worship for Sadie, but he had been excited to hear that Sadie was joining them for dinner. “Wanna play Mario Kart? Dad’s bad at it.”

“Bad?” Rio scoffed. “Who taught you how to play? The only reason you beat me is because when I paused to help your grandma, you un-paused it.”

Marcus laughed.

“That’s cheating,” Rio scolded, pulling Marcus in close by his shoulders before starting to tickle him. “So, Sadie, you want to play against a cheater, you’re welcome to my controller.”

Sadie, looking at Annie, Paola, then back to Marcus, nodded. “Sounds good. But I’m the reigning champion in my house, so don’t expect mercy from me.”

“Deal,” Marcus agreed, then motioning for Sadie to follow him into the living room.

“Mario Kart?” Annie asked.

Paola laughed. “It’s the same game system that we bought Rio when he was a boy. He got the X-Cube or Gamebox, whatever they’re called,” she waved a hand, “but I didn’t keep those. The games were too violent.”

Rio rolled his eyes like it was a lecture he was used to hearing. “Ignore my mother,” he told Annie, “or we’ll have to sit through the whole thing.”

His mother tapped his arm with the back of her hand and made a noise. “Is that any way to talk to your mother?” she scolded. “For that, you have to go get drinks.”

“I was going to do it anyway,” Rio said. “Annie, anything for you?”

Beth smiled as she watched Annie get drawn into Paola’s house. Rio got her a beer as Paola gave her a tour, mostly dedicated to showing Annie pictures of her grandchildren.

Having already had the tour, she ducked into the family room where Sadie and Marcus were trash-talking each other while playing Mario Kart.

“I’m gonna paint the roads with your blood,” Marcus said.

“Eat my dust,” Sadie shot back, frantically mashing the controller.

She leaned against the doorframe to watch the two of them. Once Dakota was a bit older, he would have a great older brother with Sadie.

It was a close race, but in the end, Marcus won. He crowed in victory as Beth clapped.

“You had time to warm up,” Sadie good-naturedly complained. “I haven’t played this in months.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Marcus said.

“You being a sore winner?” Rio’s voice gave Beth a one second warning before his arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

“Nooooo,” Marcus drew out the vowel, smiling up at them - the picture of innocence.

Rio made a noise somewhere between a groan and a laugh.

“This is you as a kid?” Sadie, who had stood up to take a closer look at the bookshelf, pointed to the photo.

“I think my ma put more of these up since last time your aunt was here.”

Sadie laughed. “It wouldn’t surprise me. Mom says she has an album of only embarrassing photos to show when I start dating.”

“Then maybe I’m pretty lucky that it’s just these ones,” Rio replied, circling his finger around the room.

“Oh don’t worry,” Beth said, patting his arm, “she’s offered to show me all of them whenever I want.”

He winced. “She asks if you want to see the ones from eighth grade, how about you just save us all some pain and say no,” he suggested.

Beth patted his arm. “Now I’m just curious. I”m going to have to ask.”

“Ask what?” Annie came into the room, drinks for her and Sadie in her hands.

“To see embarrassing photos of Rio,” Beth said.

Annie’s eyes took on a predatory gleam. “Did Beth ever show you her sophomore yearbook?”

“No,” Rio said even as Beth gasped.

“Don’t you dare, Annie!”

Annie just stuck out her tongue, passing Sadie his drink. “Nothing you can do to stop me.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a lot that I can do to stop you,” Beth warned.

Rio was laughing, shaking them slightly. He bent to set his chin on her shoulder. “I’m sure it’s not that bad,” he said, slipping a hand over her ass.

“So you’re willing to show me those albums from eighth grade?” Beth shot back.

“You mean the ones that he keeps trying to hide from me?” Paola asked as she came into the living room. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you putting them in the attic, Rio.”

“I didn’t!” Rio protested.

“Oh, they just walked up there?” Paola shook her head.

Rio snorted. “More like that was when Lora had bangs. I’m not the only one who wants those photos buried,” he muttered, but his mother still heard him.

“Of course, blame your sister. I’m sure she’s the one who broke the front window too.”

“I was seven!” Beth pulled away so she could turn her head to look at Rio as he tried to defend himself. In vain, it seemed.

“If you’re done with your game,” Paola turned to the kids, “then I think we can eat.”

Rio hadn’t been kidding when he said his mother didn’t do Thanksgiving. But as Beth took a bite of carne asada, she couldn’t complain.

Annie and Sadie seemed just as content, even going back for seconds of their favourites.

“Sadie,” Paola said as dinner wound down, clapping her hands together and leaning towards Annie’s son. Sadie lifted his head, looking a little bit like a deer in headlights. “Tell me about what you get up to in school these days. Mina and Marcus are both quite a few years younger, so the last thing I remember about the eighth grade is Rio going through it and I imagine that quite a bit has changed.”

“Uh,” Sadie shifted in his seat, “not a lot.”

“I don’t believe that,” Paola scoffed. “Rio got into all kinds of trouble.”

Sadie shook his head. “No trouble. Just…hanging out.”

Paola lifted an eyebrow, looking very much like her son. “No one catching your eye?”

Sadie’s cheeks turned pink.

Annie gasped. “What’s that supposed to mean? Who!”

“No one!” Sadie rushed to say.

“Oh, like I’m gonna buy that,” Annie scoffed. “I know you and I know that blush. You get it from your Auntie Beth. It’s a shame, because without it, you could be a half decent liar.”

Sadie glared at his mother, then turned thoughtful. “Shouldn’t you be happy that I’m a bad liar?” he asked.

Annie considered that, then shrugged. “Probably, but if you don’t learn to lie, being an adult’s going to be real hard.”

“Lying is bad!” Marcus piped in. “But sometimes Dad lies to me.”

“I do not,” Rio protested.

Marcus levelled him with a look. “Yes, you do. You said that the tooth fairy was real, but then I woke up and you were taking my tooth out from under my pillow and when I asked you, you said that you were her helper.”

“I am!” Rio said.

“Katie at school says that the tooth fairy isn’t real,” Marcus said, matter of fact.

Beth put her hand on Rio’s thigh and rubbed circles with her thumb.

Rio shrugged. “Guess you don’t want money then,” he suggested, “since Katie at school let you in on the secret.”

Marcus sat up. “No!”

“Sounds fair to me,” Beth teased.

“No, it isn’t!” Marcus protested.

“The tooth fairy is the one who pays,” Rio went on. “She can afford to pay higher prices for human teeth.”

“What’s she do with them?” Sadie said. They all looked at him. “I mean, it’s kind of weird.”

Marcus’ eyes widened as he thought about it and Beth could see wheels starting to turn in his head, probably creating increasingly horrifying possibilities.

“I bet it’s like biohazard,” Beth suggested. “You know how at the doctor and at your dad’s work there’s a special garbage for things that have blood on them?”

Marcus nodded.

“It’s probably like that,” Beth said. “She makes sure that they get disposed of properly.”

Marcus considered the explanation and nodded slowly. Rio’s hand came down on top of hers and squeezed it. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye to see him biting his lip against a laugh.

“I bet it is just like that,” Paola agreed. “Do we need a bit of time before dessert?” she changed the subject. Annie groaned, patting her belly, but Sadie and Marcus answered in the negative.

“Help clear the table,” Paola told the two of them, “and then we can have dessert.”

Sadie and Marcus made quick work of ferrying dishes to the kitchen for Paola to load into the dishwasher as Rio make coffee and tea.

“She’s nice,” Annie commented as she and Beth set out dessert plates.

Beth smiled. “She is.”

“Do you think she’ll adopt me so I can come over every week for dinner?” Annie asked, making Beth laugh and elbow her out of the way.

“It was lovely to meet you, Annie,” Paola said, kissing Annie’s cheek as Annie got ready to leave a while later. “And you too, Sadie.” She repeated the gesture on Sadie’s cheek. Beth smiled as she watched her nephew bend down slightly to let Paola reach his cheek and caught Annie’s eye.

“I’ll see you soon,” Beth said as she hugged her sister. “You’re still good to come with me to the meeting for the Merritt wedding?”

“Yup,” Annie said, hugging back. “I’ll probably talk to you before that.”

“Of course,” Beth agreed, pulling Sadie into a hug. “Have a good night.”

“You too, Aunt Beth.” Sadie squeezed Beth around the waist.

It took her and Rio another half hour to leave with Marcus in tow.

Beth followed Rio back to the loft, parking just down the street. She walked to the building, smiling when she realized that Rio and Marcus were waiting for her outside.

“You didn’t have to wait,” she told them, holding up her keys.

“We wanted to,” Marcus said, trailing off to yawn.

Beth ran her hand over his head. “Tired?”

Marcus nodded.

“Well then,” Beth took his hand, “we’d better get upstairs so we can get to bed.”

“It’s not even eight yet,” Marcus protested, leaning against Beth as Rio opened up the door.

Beth swung their hands back and forth as they began to climb the stairs. “But by the time we get ready, it’ll be after eight.”

“Still too early,” Marcus insisted. “Can we watch a movie?”

“No movies tonight,” Rio said from a few stairs above them.

“Then can we read a double chapter tonight?”

Beth listened to the two of them haggle back and forth all the way up to the third floor.

“I could read a chapter,” Beth offered. “Take turns.”

Marcus bumped his head against her hip. “Yeah?”

Beth hummed. “I do know how to read a bedtime story, mister.”

“I know that!” Marcus told her. Rio unlocked the door and flicked on the light as he stepped in. “But maybe you wanted a break.”

“I don’t mind,” Beth said, shrugging off her coat and hanging it on a hook by the door. “I like reading stories. If your dad doesn’t have a problem sharing his duties tonight, I’d be happy to read a bit.”

Pulling her phone from her pocket, she checked her messages. Dean had sent a series of photos of the kids throughout the day and she smiled at the one of Judith’s turkey display, Jane’s newest addition front and centre.

_Thanks,_ she messaged back. _Kiss the munchkins goodnight and I’ll call tomorrow._

“Want to see Janey’s turkey?” she asked Marcus, turning her phone towards him.

He held her phone in place as he studied it, then smiled. “Can you send her some pictures of mine?” He led her to the fridge, where he had two hand turkeys pinned with magnets.

“On one condition,” Beth replied. “You have to be in the picture too.”

Marcus stepped into the frame and grinned, showing his teeth and starting to wave. Beth snapped the photo, immediately sending it to Dean. _Marcus wanted to show Jane his turkeys,_ she typed. Then went back to send it to Rio.

“I think your mom and Cassie would appreciate that photo,” she called out to him as he came out of the bathroom.

He lifted his phone from the counter and unlocked it. “Yeah, they would,” he replied, tapping his screen a few times. “Pajamas, pop.”

Marcus bolted for his room and shouted, “Don’t look! I’m changing!”

Beth covered her mouth with her hand as Rio groaned. “Hazards of a lack of doors,” she reminded him.

He rubbed his face. “Why didn’t I install a door again?”

She rubbed his shoulders and chest. “Because you were probably a new dad and weren’t okay with the idea of him being out of sight and now that he’s growing up, you’re reluctant to change things?”

Rio’s head jerked back, then he looked down at her. “Thanks, Dr. Phil.” He softened the words with a kiss.

“Went through the same thing with Annie,” she said. “He’ll be old enough soon to want those things.” She moved her hand to his cheek. “It’ll take some adjustment.”

He made a face. “Don’t wanna,” he muttered.

Beth just smiled at him, shaking her head. “Better go sit on the couch for story time,” she told him with a pat.

They were on a Percy Jackson book now, something that Marcus had borrowed from Danny’s shelf. Rio read one chapter, then passed it over to Beth.

“I hope it’s okay if I don’t read the same as your dad,” Beth said as Marcus shifted so he was leaning against Rio to face her.

He smiled. “I know. You read to me and Jane!”

Beth laughed. “Just making sure you remember.”

He extended his feet so he could push them under her thighs. With a smile, Rio set his arm over Marcus’ belly to hold him in place, rubbing his head with the other hand.

“We get it,” Rio drawled. “Now read.”

With a sigh, Beth started to read. Throughout the chapter, Marcus was remarkably still and when they reached the end, he protested. “One more!”

“Nope,” Rio cut him off. “We agreed on two.”

Marcus sighed. “I didn’t.”

Smiling, Rio patted Marcus’ belly. “Sometimes it’s the adults who get to decide. You brush your teeth?”

“No.”

“Brush your teeth, then bedtime.”

Marcus slowly unwrapped himself from around Rio with a yawn. “Good night, Daddy,” he mumbled. “Night Beth.”

“Good night, honey,” Beth said, kissing him on the top of the head. “Sleep tight.”

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite,” Marcus replied before wandering to the bathroom.

“Not bed bugs I’m worried about,” she muttered to Rio as they listened to him moving around the loft, eventually climbing into bed, rolling around a bit.

“Dad!” he called out after a minute.

“Yeah pop?” Rio had tugged Beth into his lap and was starting to run his fingers along the backs of hers.

Marcus was quiet. “I forgot!”

Rio sighed. “Did you?”

“Yeah. Wasn’t important.” Marcus fell silent after that and Beth just lay with Rio on the couch for a while longer.

After a while, she pushed herself upright. “I’m tired too,” she said, rubbing her hand over his cheek. “I think I’ll get ready for bed.”

He hummed, eyes closed.

Beth laughed. “Don’t fall asleep on the couch. There’s no way I can carry you to bed.”

He smiled, but his eyes stayed closed. “Wake me up if you need to,” he mumbled.

Beth got off the couch and went to start with her bedtime routine. By the time she came out, Rio had turned off the lights and stripped down to his underwear and was tugging up a pair of sweats when she went into the closet to drop her clothes in the hamper.

Reaching out to touch his back, Beth traced some of the lines on his shoulders. He hummed in contentment, but turned to take her hand, pulling it to his mouth and kissing the back of it.

Beth smiled, leaning in for a kiss before leaving the closet. She climbed into bed and tried to settle in, but couldn’t find the right spot until Rio came out from brushing his teeth to join her. He slid under the covers, wrapping himself around her back with a sigh.

Leaning back into him, Beth started to drift. Rio though, had apparently woken up a little while getting ready for bed and his hands began to move until they settled under her top.

“Rio,” Beth whispered, biting her lip at how nice it felt when his fingers moved back and forth over her belly.

“What?” He kissed the shell of her ear, then bit the lobe quickly.

“Marcus is -“

“Marcus sleeps like the dead,” he murmured. “Let me make you feel good.” His lips pursed against the back of her neck is a quick kiss as his fingers switched direction to dip under the waistband of her pajama pants. She didn’t stop him this time.

He didn’t zero in on her clit or even her cunt, just content to explore the curves and dips of her pelvis. When she shifted her hips, he laughed almost noiselessly. “Impatient?” he whispered.

“You started it,” Beth reminded him.

Rio hummed into her neck. “And I’ll finish it. Don’t worry your pretty little head, yeah?”

She was about to congratulate him on being a condescending ass when he slipped one finger down to dip into the wetness gathering between her thighs, then using it to just brush over her clit. Beth bit her lip to hold in her moan. Fuck, Rio had practically conditioned her to be loud these days. It wasn’t fair. She turned her head to tell him as much, but he took it as an invitation to kiss her.

He had her panting soon enough, thrusting her hips against his hand. He kissed the back of her neck as he worked his fingers in and out of her. She felt his lips curve up in a smile as she buried her whimper in her hand.

He rubbed her to a satisfying orgasm and when she was panting to recover, he rearranged her panties and pajama bottoms. “You good?” he rumbled against her back. She nodded. “Good.” He kissed the back of her neck again, then up to her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her middle, tugging her against him.

Beth fell asleep immediately.

————————

Beth woke up to the sound of quiet footsteps, then the sound of rustling. Blinking her eyes open, she looked down the bed to see Marcus climbing up onto the bed and walking on his knees until he could lie down between her and Rio with his head on a pillow.

“Morning,” she greeted him.

Realizing that Beth was awake, he turned his head towards her, looking slightly guilty. “Morning, Beth,” he said quietly.

“Don’t bother whispering,” Rio mumbled. “I’m up.”

Marcus yawned, then sank a little deeper into the pillow, rubbing his face on it and ignoring his dad.

“Are we having crepes today?” he asked Beth.

Before she could answer, Rio did it for her. “Nope, we’re having omelettes. I figure we should give Elizabeth a break, huh?” He ruffled Marcus’ hair and then reached over him to do the same to Beth, who squawked and knocked his hand away.

Marcus, giggling, helped her defend herself from Rio until Rio switched tactics and started to tickle Marcus. Beth joined in to try to grab Rio’s hand, but he was faster than both of them. With one last pat, he rolled out of bed.

“Any special requests for your omelettes?” he asked.

Beth shook her head.

“Peppers please,” Marcus replied. He snuggled in against Beth for another minute before she too got out of bed, wanting to wash her face.

By the time she came out of the bathroom, Marcus was slowly getting out of Rio’s bed and dragging his feet towards the kitchen.

Beth took a seat and watched as Rio whisked eggs.

The stool made a bit of a scraping noise as Marcus pulled it back to climb onto it.

Marcus kicked his feet as he sat at the bar stool next to Beth. She turned to look at him and smiled at his disheveled appearance, reaching out to flatten his hair.

He tilted his head towards her with a sigh.

“You sleep okay?”

He nodded. “Still sleepy,” he mumbled, shutting his eyes.

Beth stroked her hand through his hair and he leaned towards her, setting his head down on the counter in the circle of his arms.

She looked up at Rio’s chuckle. He was taking an omelette out of the pan as coffee and tea brewed.

Marcus groaned. “Can we have an inside day today?” he grumbled.

“Whatchu thinking?” Rio asked, splitting the omelette and giving half to Marcus and half to Beth before turning back to get started on the next one.

“I don’t know,” Marcus said after a minute.

Beth took her hand from his head and patted his back. “How about some crafts?”

“Like what?” Marcus lifted his head up. He brightened. “Like Christmas stuff?”

Rio groaned. “No, too early,” he protested.

Marcus shook his head. “It’s after Thanksgiving. That means Christmas is next.”

“How about we enjoy the now, pop?” Rio suggested.

“Can we do winter crafts?” Marcus asked. “Like snowflakes and stuff?”

Rio considered it. “I’ll allow it.”

Marcus turned to Beth. “Snowflakes?”

“Sounds good to me,” Beth told him, digging in to her breakfast.

She shouldn’t have been surprised that Rio was good at making paper snowflakes.

“You’ve done this before,” she accused him after he unfolded an incredibly intricate one.

Grinning, he slid it between the pages of a big art book he’d pulled down to flatten the paper. “I’m pretty sure everyone’s done this before,” he teased her. “Right Marcus?”

Marcus nodded. “Me and dad do them every year. He’s really good at them.” He looked over at Beth’s and smiled. “You’re really good at it too!”

“Thanks, sweetheart,” she told him. “I like yours. Does your dad have some glitter around for us to decorate them more?”

“No,” Rio said immediately. “We don’t have glitter.”

Beth made a noise of disappointment. “You should get some for next time. Imagine how much prettier they’d look all sparkly, hanging in the windows.”

Marcus leaned towards her. “You have glitter at the house. We can take them to the house and put glitter on them.”

Beth blinked. It hadn’t even really…occurred to her. Having Rio and Marcus in the house when the kids weren’t there. Already, her mind started trying to figure out how to carve a space for Marcus to call his own, but Rio reached out and ran his fingers up her wrist like he knew she was overthinking.

“We can do that,” Beth agreed. “How about we put them in your sleep-over bag and you bring them next time. I bet Jane would love to help.”

“Okay,” Marcus said, picking up a fresh sheet of paper and holding it out to Rio. “Can you help me do a Star Wars one?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks a billion to medievalraven and neveroffanon for betaing this! And thanks for reading, kudosing, and commenting. It makes my day. :) Next chapter will cover Christmas and just to warn you, I love Christmas a lot.
> 
> Title from Selena Gomez's Look At Her Now. If there is content that should be warned for, please let me know.


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